6 Of The Best Welders You Can Find At Harbor Freight

Harbor Freight is one of the go-to hardware retailers whether you're a professional or a DIY hobbyist. The chain is known for providing quality merchandise as well as a wide range of hand tools, power tools, and more heavy-duty equipment, so you could find yourself at a local store or on Harbor Freight's website simultaneously shopping for one of the best cordless drills you can find at Harbor Freight or a full-sized generator. 

In addition to gear for automotive, plumbing, woodworking, and yard work — among others — Harbor Freight is also useful if you're into metalworking. That includes essential tools to start a welding career, one of which is — obviously — a welder. There are different types of welders, including flux and stick welders and those that use metal inert gas (MIG), as well as some hybrid options. Generally, more powerful and higher-caliber welders can cost several hundreds of dollars or more, though there are still some quality machines you can find for much less than that. In addition to cost, what types of materials you plan on welding may be a factor when deciding on a welder, along with safety features and other considerations.

Here are six of the best welders you can find at Harbor Freight, based on reviews from the retailer's customers, as well as some hands-on expert testing. You can find more detailed information on how these welders were evaluated at the end of this list.

If you want a quality welder without breaking the bank, SlashGear finds Titanium to be a "solid value purchase" when compared to other big name brands. It's also one of the better-reviewed brands available from Harbor Freight, with all of its various welders having good to excellent overall reviews. Based on nearly 600 user reviews, the Titanium Stick 225 Inverter Welder with Electrode Holder has an impressive 4.8 out of 5 average customer score on Harbor Freight's website, with 98% of users recommending the product.

Because it uses lightweight inverter technology, the tool weighs just 16.5 pounds, which makes it a breeze to take back and forth to a jobsite. For added versatility, it allows for both 120V or 240V input. The welder includes an electrode holder and a ground clamp and provides a stable, consistent arc, as well as over-current protection with an indicator light. Plus, its controls are easy to access and allow for precise adjustments.

While customers who purchase the Stick 225 seem to really like it, it did get a negative review from Weld Guru, which cited several drawbacks — including a lack of a digital display, a meager power output, and the lack of support for automatic input voltage detection. However, if you just need a portable device with decent arc quality and a solid build, it's one of the best welders available from Harbor Freight. The retailer sells the Titanium Stick 225 Inverter Welder with Electrode Holder for $299.99.

Harbor Freight owns Chicago Electric, so it's no surprise that the store offers several different welders from the brand, including the Chicago Electric 170-amp 240V MIG/Flux Cored Welder. Like other tools from the company, it has mostly positive reviews — the MIG/Flux welder has a solid 4.4 overall user score, based on over 730 customer ratings, with 91% of customers recommending it.

A relatively straightforward and hassle-free welder, Harbor Freight says the Chicago Electric 170-amp 240V MIG/Flux Cored Welder is perfect for beginners. Its default is flux core arc welding, though you can also use it for full MIG-welding applications with the addition of shielding gas and related components. Features include constant voltage, thermal overload protection with an indicator light, a six-foot welding cable with gun, and a six-foot ground cable clamp. It comes out of the box ready to weld with a 0.030-inch flux cored wire and a manual wire feed speed control, while allowing for four different output settings.

The machine can weld stainless steel and mild or low carbon steel, but unfortunately it cannot weld aluminum — a concession that is pretty common with welders in its price range. It can handle steel that's 18 gauge to 1/4 inches thick, and can use three different wire sizes: 0.58 mm, 0.8 mm, and 0.9 mm. The Chicago Electric 170-amp 240V MIG/Flux Cored Welder can be purchased for $199.99.

With over 4,700 Harbor Freight customers weighing in, the Titanium Easy-Flux 125-amp Welder has an excellent 4.8 out of 5 overall customer score — making it one of the best welders you can find from the retailer. Additionally, 98% of surveyed customers recommend the tool.

The Titanium Easy-Flux 125 can apply clean, accurate welds to 18 gauge – 3/16-inch thick mild or low alloy steel, but it isn't rated for stainless steel or aluminum. It uses advanced inverter technology for a stable arc that also allows it to weigh just 15 pounds, which makes it especially portable and much lighter than most conventional transformer welders. It's also simple to use and employs adjustable controls that allow you to fine-tune your welds. The tool has a vertical design featuring a top-load drive system that takes in standard 4-inch spools and is built to withstand tough jobsite conditions. It also comes with convenient safety features like thermal overload protection and cold start wire feeding.

The tool is not without its downsides, as noted in a hands-on review by Weld Guru. The review noted, among other issues, that it comes with short leads and a flimsy ground clamp, and that it has poor balance due to its vertical design. As noted though, Harbor Freight customers really seem to love the Titanium Easy-Flux 125-amp Welder, and it can be bought at the retailer for $149.99 — which even Weld Guru admits is an "affordable" price.

The Chicago Electric 80-amp Inverter Arc Welder has a terrific 4.7 out of 5 average customer score based on over 350 user ratings, with 97% of customers recommending the product. While this isn't a full-sized welder that can handle every job, for smaller applications it's top-notch. Plus, its compact size can be an asset if you're taking the welder from site to site. It weighs under 10 pounds and is just 3-3/4 inches wide and 5-7/8 inches tall — light enough that it even comes with a shoulder strap for easy portability. 

It also comes with a 5-foot ground cable with a clamp and a 5.5-foot welding cable with a dual-angle electrode holder. The inverter arc welder includes three specialized inverter functions that allow you to use the device for a wide range of different tasks, while offering reliable, direct current stability for a consistent output and solid penetration. When you need more current, it can be provided by the machine's ARC Force, which monitors the voltage. For your safety, the welder is also equipped with indicator lights for both power and for thermal overload. One particularly useful feature is its Hot Start, which lets you get right to work and prevents electrodes sticking to the metal.

The tool is somewhat limited in what it can weld, though it can handle 16-gauge cast iron, mild steel, and stainless steel. At least one Harbor Freight customer found issues with the clamp, though overall, it's still one of the best-rated welders on Harbor Freight's website. The retailer sells the Chicago Electric 80-amp Inverter Arc Welder for $149.99.

Titanium is a solid metalworking brand, which is why a Titanium welder is just one of many Harbor Freight products that can level up your on-the-go welding kit. If you're in the market for a MIG welder, you should definitely consider the Titanium MIG 140 Professional Welder with 120V Input, which has a great overall customer rating of 4.7 out of 5, based on over 750 reviews. On top of that, 97% of customers recommend the tool.

The welder can handle 24-gauge – 5/16-inch steel, including stainless steel. If you use an optional spool gun (that doesn't require an adapter, but is sold separately), you can also weld 16-gauge – 3/16-inch aluminum for added versatility. The heavy-duty drive system is all metal and can easily feed solid and flux cores, with the tool offering a wire feed speed of 80 to 275 inches per minute. It's simple to set up and just as simple to use, employing inverter technology for a more efficient arc start. In addition to simple controls, the MIG 140 employs a tool-free design for easy process or wire changeovers. Weighing 26 pounds, it won't be much of a hassle to bring it with you for field use when necessary. 

After testing the product, Weld Guru found the build to be high quality and the tool to be easy to use, though it reported that the knobs are difficult to precisely control while wearing gloves. The reviewer was also dismayed at the lack of included accessories with the tool. However, for what you're getting, it has a reasonable price compared to a lot of the competition. You can purchase the Titanium MIG 140 Professional Welder with 120V Input from Harbor Freight for $499.99.

The Chicago Electric Flux 125 Welder is a popular choice among Harbor Freight customers. On the retailer's website, it has a solid 4.6 out of 5 average user rating, based on nearly 4,000 customer reviews, with 96% of customers recommending the product. You won't be able to use it on aluminum or stainless steel, but it can handle mild or low alloy steel that's 18 gauge to 3/16 inches thick. While it can limit the tool, not having to use gas for wire welding certainly simplifies the job by forgoing the need to buy tanks and regulators, so the flux core arc welder might be a more appealing option than a MIG welder.

The Flux 125 can output up to 125 amps and has a best-in-class 20% duty cycle (90 amps AC at 17 volts). Its dependable performance is paired with continuous and variable wire feed speed control, and it can use both 0.8 mm and 0.9 mm-sized wires. Safety features include integrated overload protection to prevent overheating, along with a trigger-activated arc control that stops accidental flashes from injuring you or your eyes, as well as avoiding accidental strikes.

The tool has a compact design and weighs 38 pounds, which makes it light enough to carry. In its hands-on review, The Drive calls the tool "worth the money," though notes the wire feed is inconsistent and that it can be pretty frustrating not to be able to fine-tune the amperage. If you can live with that, you can pick up the Chicago Electric Flux 125 Welder for $99.99 from Harbor Freight.

To find some of the best welders available at Harbor Freight, we heavily sourced the reviews of customers who've purchased them from the retailer and have experience using them. With strong overall customer scores, you can be confident that a given tool is reliable and works as advertised. All the tools on this list have an average user rating of at least 4.4 out of 5, with at least 91% of customers that were surveyed recommending each welder.

A larger base of user ratings also makes for a more reliable score, as any outlier reviews made in bad faith (whether positively or negatively) won't have nearly as much of an impact on the average score. The recommended welders on this list all have overall customer ratings based on at least 350 reviews, if not thousands more. Additionally, we consulted hands-on reviews from reputable publications known for their welding expertise to help find pros and cons that may or may not have been mentioned by customers on Harbor Freight's website. These reputable publications include Weld Guru and The Drive.

In addition to reviews and customer feedback, the various features offered by the welders were also considered when putting together this list, as well as the range of materials each machine can suitably weld. Finally, an effort was also made to include different types of welders so that you can find a top-quality product at Harbor Freight that's right for you, whether you prefer stick, flux, or MIG welders.